Card games have been a highly popular form of entertainment for centuries. For many individuals, an added excitement of wagering and a possibility of a monetary reward serve to increase the entertainment value and desirability of the game. Card games have become especially popular with players of gaming machines.
However, existing games have limited player decision making opportunities which lessens the excitement and challenge of the game for the player. In addition, these games also have limited pay out options in terms of a monetary value and total number of possible winning combinations.
Therefore, a need exists for providing a card game in which players have a certain degree of control over the results of the game which are in the form of play options and decision making opportunities. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a card game in which players have an opportunity, through player options, to increase pay out options in terms of a monetary value and total number of possible winning combinations.
The following prior art reflects the state of the art of which applicant is aware and is included herewith to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose relevant prior art. It is stipulated, however, that none of these references teach singly nor render obvious when considered in any conceivable combination the nexus of the instant invention as disclosed in greater detail hereinafter and as particularly claimed.
______________________________________ PATENT NO. ISSUE DATE INVENTOR ______________________________________ 4,695,053 Vazquez, Jr., et al. 5,019,973 Wilcox, et al. 5,098,107 Boylan, et al. 5,100,137 Fulton 5,255,915 Miller 5,294,120 Schultz 5,308,065 Bridgeman, et al. 5,332,219 Marnell, II, et al. 5,342,049 Wichinsky, et al. 5,356,140 Dabrowski, et al. 5,366,228 Kangsanaraks 5,393,057 Marnell, II 5,411,257 Fulton 5,411,268 Nelson, et al. 5,415,404 Joshi, et al. 5,415,414 Savage 5,431,408 Adams 5,437,451 Fulton 5,531,440 Dabrowski, et al. 5,531,441 Dabrowski, et ______________________________________ al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,408 to Adams teaches the use of a card game with a "traveling" wild card. Initially, a first plurality of cards which are dealt to a player are selected from a deck of cards which does not include a wild card. The cards remaining after making the first deal of cards are reshuffled along with one or more wild cards to form a second collection of cards from which any additional cards dealt to the player are selected. Thus, the player has no decision making opportunity with respect to receiving a wild card nor of being guaranteed that a wild card will be received during game play. If a wild card is received during one hand, the player has the opportunity to reserve that wild card for use in a subsequent hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,973 to Wilcox, et al. teaches the use of a poker game method. The game includes accepting a first wager and dealing a plurality of cards to a player. The player then makes a second wager for an additional card which will be compared with the plurality of cards previously dealt to the player. If the additional card matches the value and/or suite of any of the previously dealt cards the matching cards in the previously dealt cards are defined as wild cards. Thus, the previously dealt cards and the defined wild cards delineate a best card hand. The best card hand is then compared with a pay out table which determines if a winning combination has been hit and the amount of the pay out, if any.
The other prior art listed above, but not specifically discussed, further catalog the prior art of which the applicant is aware. These references diverge even more starkly from the references specifically distinguished above.